Opposition parties slow to get fully behind Yes
campaign

ANALYSIS:Senior Fine Gael figures have proven to
be far too shy in the presence of microphones

MORE THAN two weeks out from the Lisbon Treaty referendum,
political parties on the Yes side are already beginning to niggle
each other. It is not a good sign for the Yes side.

On Sunday, Taoiseach Brian Cowen welcomed a poll that showed
strong Yes support from Fianna Fáil supporters, but, in the
eyes of some, criticised Fine Gael and Labour.

"I'm glad to see our own party, the support of our own base is
certainly highest amongst all the parties and I'm sure the other
parties will crank up their campaigns now as well," he said in
Portlaoise.

Yesterday, Cowen was extremely annoyed, according to Government
Buildings sources, to see that that quote had been portrayed as him
challenging the Opposition to do better in the final weeks of the
campaign.

Instead, Cowen insisted that the proper interpretation of the
sentence should have been seen as "encouragement" to the other
parties on the Yes side to get its vote out when the public goes to
the polls on June 12th.

Rightly or wrongly, Cowen's remarks are feeding a growing well
of annoyance among Fine Gael supporters that he is taking them for
granted.

Fine Gael has problems: its supporters are divided 50:50 on the
treaty and it is upset by Cowen's behaviour.

So far, the party has not yet started a leader's tour - as
happens in general elections - and there is no evidence that it is
planning to do so.

However, it furiously rejects the charge that it is not pulling
its weight, pointing out that it launched its campaign earlier than
anyone else.

It argues that it has been working to a plan set down before
last Christmas, and that the pace of events will be accelerated in
the final fortnight.

And Kenny is out canvassing, though even the party admits that
it has not been telling the press about his engagements in
advance.

But it has carried out up to 50 public meetings, and passed out
thousands of pieces of literature advocating a Yes vote in
constituencies.

However, the wind in the last week - particularly in rural
constituencies - has been behind the No campaign and Fine Gael TDs
have been quick to spot it.

"I met 30 people this morning; 20 were against it - and not one
of them because of anything that was actually in the treaty," said
one senior Fine Gael TD yesterday.

Yet another said: "Look, I am canvassing and talking to people,
but I am not doing any more than I have to do, to be honest."

Youthful TD Lucinda Creighton has become the face of the Fine
Gael media campaign - though her concentration on defence issues
could be questioned.

Nevertheless, she cannot be faulted for effort - though far more
senior figures in the party have proven to be far too shy in the
presence of microphones.

Gay Mitchell has been active at office briefings, although his
determination to talk about defence and "panzer divisions" is not
currying much favour.

Fianna Fáil, said a series of senior Fine Gael people
yesterday, appears not to understand how badly the Taoiseach's
"I'll silence you" attack went down last week.

"The very least that he should be trying to do is bring people
onside, not insult people when he needs them to play ball," said
one FG deputy.

The Labour Party, equally, has a problem with its constituency,
which is also badly divided in its attitude towards the treaty.

Again, Labour is launching posters, doing door-to-door
canvassing, issuing press statements, and yet failing to make much
of an impression.

However, both Fine Gael and Labour insist that they cannot be
blamed when the media is always going to focus on the Taoiseach -
particularly a new one.

"If we do a launch, we'll get a 20-seconds clip. Cowen will get
30 seconds of himself just walking down the street, plus a report,"
said one Fine Gael press officer yesterday.

However, Labour's own diary does not convince that the party is
throwing its soul into the campaign. Eamon Gilmore's next scheduled
canvass is not until May 31st.

He is then listed to take part in eight constituency canvasses
over the remaining part of the campaign, and some media
appearances.

The party's director of elections, Joe Costello, responsible for
orchestrating matters, has been all but invisible in media debates
on the treaty.

The Progressive Democrats insist that their new leader,
CiaráCannon, is active on the ground, though, again, evidence
that he is making an impact is thin.

Mary Harney has been silent, yet she is said to be only too
willing to get involved - though she has to be careful not to
overshadow her successor.

The Green Party Ministers - faced with an organisation that
narrowly refused to take a clear position on the treaty - have been
practically silent.

So far, John Gormley has not taken part in a single interview
whose primary purpose was to push for a Yes vote, while Eamon Ryan
has not done much better.

Bizarrely, there appears to be little or no contact between the
government parties about planning for the referendum campaign. It
is a funny way to fight a war and one they had better hope they do
not live to regret.